|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Table is Laid:
The Oxford Anthology of South Asian Food Writing
The editors have chosen, rather fittingly, to begin this book with Mahatma Gandhi’s convictions on self-denial. He writes about his experiments with fasting whilst practising satyagraha at the Toslstoy Farm in South Africa. Anita Desai’s A Devoted Son showcases the growing disillusionment of an aging father towards his capable son, springing from his own unrealistic expectations. His dutiful son had metamorphosed, in his gradually fading view, into a tyrant who denied him the pleasure of treats he once relished. Conversely, Nanak Singh’s Bhua displays her delight, at meeting her much-loved nephew after a period of 10 years, by plying him—non-stop—with food. The Rock by Ismat Chugtai is a brilliant piece on the comfort derived from binge-eating. The protagonist is her handsome brother who manages to transform, not one, but two of his wives, in quick succession, into shadows of their former selves. Except that the shadows were of obese proportions; a result of their emotional insecurities manifesting themselves as eating disorders. Vaidehi’s poem Girl in the Kitchen is a heartfelt plea for freedom from tradition-bound activities. Shackled to the kitchen, this young girl sings of her longing to be rescued by a knight in shining armour from the drudgery of cooking. On the other hand, the female character in Vaikom Basheer’s Poovan Banana is a snobbish lady subjugated, forcefully, by a chauvinistic husband for turning up her nose at his gifts. The volume spans a wide gamut of areas—scholarly, narrative, philosophical, literary, anthropological, and cultural—all the while, striking a fine balance between food writing and the study of culture pertaining to food. It comprises short stories, poems and extracts from novels of both literary, and non-literary, backdrops. It is further peppered by the presence of Nissim Ezekiel, Shashi Deshpande and Rohinton Mistry. Excerpts, from The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh, The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakurni and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, are skilfully thrown in for flavour. This literary galaxy ensures an appeal to a readership that encompasses many genres. For an indelible experience, read and ruminate.
|
The
Table is Laid is a feast with a difference, replete with courses
offering the reader much food for thought. The master chefs, in the
guise of editors John Thieme and Ira Raja, have brought together musings
by some of the most celebrated writers from the subcontinent. This
anthology draws on expressions by literary greats such as Ismat Chugtai,
Dom Moraes and R. K. Narayan, as well as, works by V. S. Naipaul, Salman
Rushdie and Kiran Desai, alongside translations from regional Indian
languages.